The Obama administration notified Congress on Friday that it intends to give
Egypt’s new government an emergency cash infusion of $450 million, but the move
immediately ran into resistance from Republican Rep. Kay Granger of Fort
Worth.

The aid is part of $1 billion in assistance that the Obama administration has
pledged to Egypt to bolster its economy and its transition to democracy after
the overthrow last year of Hosni Mubarak, the country’s autocratic president.

The fate of the aid was clouded, however, because of concerns over the new
governments policies and its handling of anti-American protests two weeks ago
that overwhelmed the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

The US. Agency for International Development notified Congress of the cash
infusion Friday morning, prompting renewed protests over the administration’s
handling of crises spreading across the Islamic world.

Granger, chairwoman of the Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations,
immediately announced that she would act to block the assistance.

“This proposal comes to Congress at a point when the U.S.-Egypt relationship
has never been under more scrutiny, and rightly so,” Granger said in a prepared
statement. “I am not convinced of the urgent need for this assistance and I
cannot support it at this time.”

The relationship between the United States and Egypt has been rocky since the
overthrow of Mubarak last year. The Egyptian government angered Washington when
it cracked down on numerous democracy advocates and groups, including three
U.S.-funded nongovernmental organizations, earlier this year.

More recently, demonstrators breached the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to protest an
anti-Islam video made in the U.S., and some in Congress have called for cutting
off aid. The United States provides Egypt with $1.55 billion annually — $250
million in economic aid and $1.3 billion in military aid.

The cash transfer would have come from money that had already been
appropriated.

In December, Congress made foreign assistance to Egypt, including the
military financing, contingent on a determination that the government “is
supporting the transition to civilian government including holding free and fair
elections; implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association
and religion and due process of law.”

Addressing the UN. General Assembly on Wednesday, Egypt's new Islamist
president, Mohammed Morsi, called for limits on freedom of speech, citing the
anti-Islam video, which triggered violent protests in much of the Muslim
world.

“Egypt respects freedom of expression … that is not used to incite hatred
against anyone,” Morsi said. “Insults against the prophet of Islam, Muhammad,
are not acceptable. We will not allow anyone to do this by word or by deed.”

Morsi, a key figure in the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, also condemned the
violent protests over the video.

And in an interview with The New York Times before traveling to the U.S., Morsi vowed
to uphold equal citizenship rights of all Egyptians, regardless of religion, sex
or class.

A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
the United States remains committed to a democratic transition in Egypt and
still sees support for economic growth as a vital way to protect peace and
security. The official said the administration would work with Congress in the
coming days and weeks to make the case that the assistance is in U.S.
interests.

State Department and White House officials have shuttled to and from Cairo to
negotiate the assistance. Although much of the $1 billion in aid previously
announced was intended to relieve Egypt’s debts to the U.S., the administration
decided to provide cash instead — including $190 million immediately — because
the country’s budget crisis has become acute.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking at a meeting in New York
on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly, said the world needed to
do more to support the governments that have emerged from the popular uprisings
of the Arab Spring.

“The recent riots and protests throughout the region have brought the
challenge of transition into sharp relief,” Clinton said, without mentioning the
aid to Egypt specifically. “Extremists are clearly determined to hijack these
wars and revolutions to further their agendas and ideology, so our partnership
must empower those who would see their nations emerge as true democracies.”